Not Always
by aerogirl
Summary: I'm on a major PG rated roll, aren't I? Well, as for the fic, AU: Yamato gets pulled from TK and moved to a new, small town. He immediately cursed it, but he'll find that things are not always as bad as they seem...
1. The Beginning

Not Always Disclaimer: I own zilch. Nadda. Nothing. Zippo. Not Digimon, not anything. Got it? You should.  
  
Alrighty, this is an Alternate Universe fic. It's my first AU, and I wanted to try it out. K? K. Um... **blink** there's... um... damn, I really don't wanna give the plot away. No flames though, please. If you don't like, don't review. And if you're wondering why some characters are wearing 01 stuff and some 02, well, I like how some look better in 01 or 02, and it's AU, so nyah.  
  
  
  
Not Always   
  
_Alright, here's the scoop. Yamato's father was offered a new job with better pay, and is moving him away toward the new place. Of course, this pulls Matt even further from TK. Which makes him depressed. Which makes him very pissable. You get the idea... Ages? Matt is 16; Tai is 17; Mimi is 15; Jyou is 18; Kari is 14; Izzy is 15; Sora is 16._   
  
  
A blonde-haired boy wearing a green tank-top and blue jeans propped up his feet against the back of his father's seat. Arms crossed, face in a scowl, he glared out the window. He hated the area already. It was already turning into one of those places they show on Lassie movies or something. Nothing but trees, lakes, and a few scattered farms. He relieved slightly as he saw that at least he wouldn't have to live there as they started driving to a small town.   
  
He read the sign silently. _Cucamonga, population.... 634?? I've seen more people in a mall!_  
  
"Almost there." his father announced from the driver's seat.  
  
"Hurrah." Matt almost growled with false enthusiasm.  
  
"Well aren't you the chipper one?"  
  
"Fuck off."  
  
His father opened his mouth to correct his son's language, then closed it, deciding against it. He paused. He tried to lighten the mood. "I heard this place has some really good kids. First time I came here, I saw a bunch of them. There's some computer genius even."   
  
"Yay. Nerds." More false enthusiasm.   
  
His father sighed, then pulled the car to a stop.   
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********   
  
  
Matt simply leaned against the car, arms crossed, eyes closed as his father carried multiple loads of boxes and bags into their new apartment.  
  
"HI!" A shrill, yet not-annoying voice piped.   
  
Matt looked up to see a pink-haired girl waving at him. He simply shook his head and looked down again.  
  
"I'm Mimi!" the girl didn't seem to notice being shunned. "You're new here, right?"  
  
Matt shrugged, then looked away pointedly.  
  
Apparently, Mimi didn't notice. "So, what's your name?"   
  
Matt stayed quiet.   
  
"Uh... hello?"   
  
Matt glanced at her a second, then looked away.   
  
"Well fine, I was just trying to be friendly."   
  
"Hey! Mimi!"   
  
The two looked up to see a boy with bushy brown hair heading toward them. If the kid was a redhead, people would have mistaken that his haed was on fire...   
  
The other jogged up. "Hey, who's this?"   
  
"I dunno... he won't--"   
  
Matt's eyes locked on the other. Before he knew it... "Yamato... Yamato Ishida... some people call me Matt."   
  
"Hey Matt." the guy smiled. "Taichi Kamiya. You can call me Tai."   
  
Mimi pouted. "How come he says hi to you and not me?" she whined as the two shook hands.   
  
"Hey, listen Matt. Me and my friends were planning on going for pizza. Wanna come with?"   
  
"Whatever." Matt blinked, wondering why he didn't instantly turn it down.   
  
"Alright, come on."   
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********   
  
  
Matt once again began his 'I'm cool, stay the fuck away from me' lean, this time just outside the pizza parlor, a few feet away from Tai and Mimi.   
  
Soon, a group of four more approached. A girl with a camera around her neck, some red head who somehow managed to type a computer and safely cross the street at the same time, some guy with blue hair that seemed the oldest, and... another plain-looking girl (A/N: and I'm not sayign that just because I don't like Sora. I tried to think of a way to describe her, and that's all I could think of!).   
  
The youngest one, with the camera, headed to Tai. "Hey onnichan!" she smiled, then blinked at the unfamiliar face nearby. "Hey, who's that?"   
  
"His name's Yamato." Mimi answered.   
  
"Hey Yamato!" the girl chimed happily. "I'm Hikari, Tai's sister!" she reached for a handshake, but, after 10 seconds of no effort on Matt's part to accept it, she lowered it. "Um... okay..."   
  
"Well isn't he Mr. Social?" Sora whispered sarcastically to Tai.   
  
"I dunno. He seemed nice to me..."   
  
"Tai, out of everyone he's seen so far, you're the ONLY one he's been nice to." Mimi added.   
  
The others introduced themselves, and, after a while, the group of 7 headed inside.   
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********   
  
  
At the table, everyone chattered happily and gorged, with the exception of Yamato who sat quietly, simply looking at the group... especially one person in it.   
  
_He's kind of... oh my god... don't even think that. _ he scolded himself. _But he is... looks so... kawaii... STOPPIT_ "grr.."   
  
The group turned to look at the blonde who know was holding his head. "You okay?" Taichi looked at him worriedly.   
  
"Y-yeah... I'm fine. I just... have a headache is all." Yamato lied.   
  
"You okay though? Jyou probably has some aspirin..."   
  
"Yep." Joe nodded.   
  
"How did he know?" Kari questioned in mock wonder.   
  
"No... really... I just..." _Need to get out of here before I start to question my sexuality! Need to get out before I leap over the damn table and french him. _"Need to get out of here... I'm just not feeling well."   
  
"Um... okay." Tai nodded, watching as the blonde squirmed past the others to get out of the booth. "Um... wanna go somewhere tomorrow then with us?"   
  
"Y-you know... I really don't think that would be a good idea."   
  
And with that, Matt turned and walked off.   
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********   
  
  
Matt stopped his walk outside of some grocery store. He sat down on a bench, thoroughly rubbing his face. "Stop this Ishida..." he whispered to himself. "It's wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. And stupid. You're not like that!" Matt tried to laugh, but quickly stopped. "No, you're not. You're straight. One hundred percent, unquestionably straight."   
  
He looked up, staring across the street for no real reason. What was it about Taichi that was so kawaii? His wild chestnut mop of hair? His chocolate eyes? The tanned skin? His personality? All of it? Well, whatever it was, it was major.   
  
Matt sighed, running his hand through his hair and closing his eyes.   
  
"Hey, feeling better?"   
  
Matt almost jumped out of his skin, eyes shooting open at the voice. "H-hey Tai."   
  
Tai sat down next to him on the bench. "Unusual place to get rid of a headache."   
  
Matt shrugged.   
  
Tai tilted his head to the side. "How come you're always so... withdrawn? The others say theat you won't even talk to them."   
  
"None of your business."   
  
"Ooh.. let me guess. Left a girlfriend back home and you're pissed at your parents?"   
  
"No and yes. No, I didn't leave a girlfriend back home. I've actually never really had a girlfriend other than in like, 6th grade when everyoen pretended to date. And yes, I'm mad at my parents. But in more ways than you know."   
  
"So how about clueing me in so I do know?"   
  
Matt looked at Tai, walls inside him wavering. What the hell was his problem??? Every time he saw Tai, his brain shut down and functioned just enough to screw everything up. "My... parents divorced."   
  
"Oh... sorry man."   
  
"That's not it. They've been divorced since I was a kid.. and they split me and my little brother up. And when I moved here, I..."   
  
"Got pulled farther away from him..." Tai finished for him. "Oh, sorry." he sighed. "Maybe... stop beign antisocial and your friends you'd get would help you."   
  
"I'm not antisocial."   
  
"Then how come you have six people willing to be your friends and you won't give any of us a chance?"   
  
"Just... leave me alone."   
  
"Fine. But here." Tai pulled out a peice of paper from his pocket, found a pen in it somehow, and scribbled down 7 numbers sloppily. "If you change your mind and want a friend, call me." and with that, he walked off.   
  
Matt blinked at the phone number. Tai's phone number.   
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********   
  
  
A group of six kids; Tai, Kari, Sora, Joe, Izzy, and Mimi; walked out of a theater. They always hung out alot in the summer. This was just one of their average weeks.   
  
"That Ishida kid seemed like a jackass." Sora brought up as they walked out.   
  
"Yeah, antisocial freak."   
  
Tai glared at them. "Hey, back off. Dont' talk about people behind their back."   
  
"Well, Tai!" Sora rolled her eyes. "He IS a jerk!"   
  
"Well ask him why like I did."   
  
"Why?" everyone chimed at once.   
  
"Well..."   
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********   
  
  
Matt continued to stare at the phone number, now inside the new apartment. Should he call? Not?   
  
He blinked a few more times, then darted to the phone, rapidly dialing. "HimissesKamiyaIguess?Yeah,friend.IsTaithere?" he asked in a blob.   
  
Pause. Crackle crunch. "Hello?"   
  
"Hi." Matt suddenly swung his mood, trying to sound only half interested.   
  
"Hi. Wow, I expected it to be days before you called."   
  
"Well, whatever." Matt attempted sounding casual. "Um... I... don't have many friends yet, you know... so... maybe wanna come over and play on the PS2?"   
  
"Sure! Here, let me call the others..."   
  
"No." Matt cut him off. "Just you. Two of the guys or whatever."   
  
"Oh, okay. I get it. So..."   
  
"How about in an hour? You know where I live."   
  
"I do?"   
  
"Yeah, right where the car was parked when Mimi first came up."   
  
"Alright,see ya."   
  
Matt hung up the phone. Alone with Tai... sure, to Tai, it'd be a hangout... but Tai was allowing Matt some of his time for them to be together... and... for some odd reason... that meant the world to Matt.   
  
Matt closed his eyes, sighing. Something had come over him since he had gotten here, and in a rush. Something he never felt before. Something he was amazed by. Something that scared the living hell out of the young blonde. 


	2. The Accidental Spy

Not Always; 2 Matt mentally scolded himself as he caught himself staring at Tai for the fifth time that day. At least, the fifth time he had been caught.  
  
"What?" Tai blinked.  
  
"I uh... just wanted to say sorry... that the place is so sloppy since we just moved in, you know?"  
  
"You've said that five times, Matt."  
  
"Oh, heh, sorry."  
  
Matt forced himself to turn his attention back to the game.   
  
Tai paused, setting down the controller. "Matt?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You have something on your mind. I know it. I may not be smart, but I'm not THAT dense. Now you can tell me what it is."  
  
"N-nothing." Matt lied, doing his best not to blush.  
  
"Okay, fine. Whatever." Pause. Blink blink. "Um... you have anything to eat?"  
  
"Yeah. I learned from the restaraunt that you're a bottomless pit, but we SHOULD have enough here."  
  
"Hey!!"  
  
Minutes later, Tai was gorging on some leftover... well, leftover everything. You name something in that fridge, Tai was eating it.  
  
"Wih ih goo." Tai blurbed, mouth full.  
  
"Come again?"  
  
Tai swallowed. "This is good." he repeated. "What is it?"  
  
"Heh, nooo clue."  
  
All conversation died off in some odd uncomfortable pause.  
  
"So...." Tai tried to lighten the mood, still eating, though not close to as savagely as before. "You said you never had a girlfriend? Come on, out with it man. It's just guys here. What was her name? There's no way a guy like you couldn't have a girlfriend."  
  
Matt shrugged, resting his head in his hands. "Nah. I got offers, but I really didn't like any of them. I did date ONCE, but that was just to wave off this nasty rumor that I wasn't dating because I was gay."  
  
"Are you?" Tai joked.  
  
Pause. "No! NO! I mean, nooo..."  
  
Tai lifted an eyebrow. "Oookieee..."  
  
"What? You don't believe me?!"  
  
"No, you're just acting weird."  
  
"I'm not acting weird!"  
  
"Oookieee..." Tai repeated, clearing his plate.  
  
Another awkward silence. "Y-you know, it's okay if you are." Tai finally spoke up. "I mean, I'm not predjudiced or anything."  
  
"I'M _NOT_, OKAY?" Matt snapped.  
  
"Okay, okay. Sheesh. I was just saying."  
  
Matt glared, but only held it for a second. "Listen, didn't mean to yell, but just with you questioning me on that, you know? How would you like it if I came up and kept poking around saying 'you gay?', 'it's okay if you are.', 'you can tell me.'?"  
  
Tai looked up. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry. I'd probably get touchy, too." Pause. "Soooo... up for some more PS? Or no?"  
  
"I'm really not in the mood, anymore. Sorry."  
  
"Sorry about that man. Really."  
  
"Yeah, it's okay."  
  
"I'll go. I probably pissed you off enough today. I'll see you around, okay?" Tai picked up his leather jacket, heading toward the door. "Sorry."  
  
Matt watched the door close, and slumped back against the wall with a sigh. Maybe he knew? Or wanted to know?  
  
"If only you knew, Tai-chan..."  
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********  
  
  
Mrs. Kamiya looked up from the kitchen as the front door opened. "Tai? I wasn't expecting you home so soon!"  
  
Tai just shrugged, silently walking to his room.  
  
Mrs. Kamiya looked to Kari, who simply nodded in understanding. Her mother wanted her to talk to Tai and see what was wrong, and so she headed to Tai's room.  
  
She found him laying on his back on his bed, silently tossing a soccer ball in the air.  
  
"Tai?"  
  
No response.  
  
"Tai?"  
  
Still.  
  
"TAI!!!"  
  
Tai snapped to, looking at her. "What?"  
  
"What's with you?"   
  
"Nothing." he stated calmly. Then, noticing the 'Don't give me that bullshit' look in Kari's eyes, he expanded. "I just think I really pissed off the new kid by mistake."  
  
"How so?"  
  
Tai stopped throwing the ball, and shrugged. "I asked why he enver had a girlfriend, and he ended up saying he only had one once to stop people from saying he was gay. I asked if he was and he got all pissed. I didn't mean to make him mad or offend him, I just wanted to know."  
  
"And since when is Taichi Kamiya interesting in the sexuality of other boys?" Kari teased.  
  
"Shove it before I find my old kendo stick and cram it down your throat." he scowled.  
  
"Well, why WERE you asking then?"  
  
"Conversation, I guess. Besides, I need to be prepared if any guy friends would want to put moves on me since I'm straight."  
  
"I seeee..." Kari nodded, not fully believing.  
  
"Kari?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Get the hell out."  
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********  
  
  
Matt sat on the phone, on a long distance call to TK.  
  
"Really? Sounds nice there." TK said, halfway through conversation.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Although I'd like it if you came here." Pause. "There's a girl here I'm pretty sure you'd like. Name's Hikari."  
  
"Cool." Silence. One of those awquard silences that always take half of their airtime between relatives on phonecalls. "Soooo... found and _girls_ there yet?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Matt? You there?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm here TK."  
  
"Well?"  
  
Pause. "I-- sort o--- not rea---"  
  
"Ohh, you DID, huh?"  
  
"No, TK, I didn't."  
  
"Oh." Another long silence.  
  
Matt took a breath. "TK?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Remember... those rumors?"  
  
"Oh, yeah." TK laughed. "I just about beat the living hell out of anyone who said that."  
  
Silence on Matt's part.  
  
Such a long silence that-- "...oh God, you mean?"  
  
Matt sighed. "Yeah. Please don't hate me or something. It's just... there's this one guy and..."  
  
"Woah." TK cut him off. "I'm your brother. I could NEVER hate you."  
  
"Thanks TK." Matt responded, voice cracking.  
  
After a bit of silence-- "So, what's he like?" as if they were talking about a girl.  
  
"His name is Taichi. He's Hikari's brother, actually. He's got the strangest hair. It's a huge mop thing that defies gravity." TK laughed at that. "He's... got these... chocolate eyes... and olive skin... he's a little taller than me... he's always happy, from what I've seen... thin... from what I've heard, he's the star on the school's soccer team... and he's really friendly..." Matt sighed. "And I yelled at him today. I didn't mean to, I just did."  
  
"Well, he sounds really cool. If I was... erm... like you are, I'd go for him in a second, probably."  
  
"Heh." Matt smiled. "Thanks."  
  
"What'd you scream at him for?"  
  
"For asking if I was gay."  
  
"But you are."  
  
"But I don't want HIM to know that."  
  
"Ah, he's straight?"  
  
"Far as I know."  
  
"Then... why did he bring it up?"  
  
"I sort of did. The rumor came up in conversation."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Another pause.  
  
"Listen Matt, it's 12:56, I really gotta get some sleep. Mom's dragging me aroudn shopping and on errands and crap tomorrow."  
  
"Oh, sorry for you man. Well, see you later."  
  
"Yeah, see ya."  
  
Matt hung up the phone after he heard the dial tone, signaling that TK had hung up.  
  
  
*********~~~~~~~~~*********  
  
  
One week passed, and then another. And another. And another. And finally, summer break was almost over.  
  
But that wasn't what was bugging Matt.  
  
He knew he couldn't keep it inside any longer. He had barely been here a month, and he felt ready to just about keel over if he didn't tell Tai. But then Tai would run. And without Tai... well... he didn't know what he would do if the two weren't friends. They had patched things up after their arguement, and recently, they had become best friends, even in such a short time.  
  
  
  
Matt eventually began convincing himself that Tai might, just _might_, like him as a little more than a friend. And, on that day, he gathered up his courage, and headed over to Tai's place.  
  
On the level where the Kamiya apartment sat, he saw Tai outside.  
  
But it wasn't only Tai.  
  
There was Sora, her lips pressed against Tai's.  
  
With watchign only a half a second of that, Matt turned on his heel, darting away.  
  
  
  
Tai shoved Sora away. "What the fuck?" he half asked her for what she was doing, half asked noone trying to figure out what the sound was.  
  
"B-but Tai... I thought..."  
  
Tai brushed past her. "Stay away from me." he looked over his shoulder as he went to investigate the noise.  
  
Within going down only one level, he saw a familiar form. A young blonde, on the ground, knees to his chest, face buried in his knees, most likely crying.  
  
"Yamato?"  
  
Matt froze, looking up, quickly brushing away the tears covering his face. What was making him cry? He never cried! Even when he was pulled away from TK, he didn't cry, he got mad. Why was he crying?  
  
"T-Tai..."  
  
Tai walked over, sitting down on the ground next to him, leaning back against the wall. "What's wrong?" he didn't even wait for an answer. "Oh fuck. Was it about that kiss up there?"  
  
No answer from Matt.  
  
"Matt, talk to me."  
  
Still no answer.   
  
"Listen Matt, if you like Sora that much, go talk to her. SHE was the one that kissed ME, I don't want her as a girlfriend. Maybe she likes yo-"  
  
Matt almost laughed at this, although he was still crying. "Me like Sora? The day I like Sora is the day I shoot myself in the head."  
  
"Matt, come on. We all know you don't like to admit stuff, so just tell her."  
  
"I _DON'T_ LIKE SORA!"  
  
And then, it clicked for Tai. Matt's snubbing everyone but him originally. The staring. His extreme denial. The crying. "Oh God, Matt..." he looked at the blonde. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"T-tell you?" Matt stuttered. "Th-there's nothing to tell!" he looked away.  
  
"Don't lie to me, Matt." Tai said firmly. "Look me in the eye and say that."  
  
Matt turned, looking into Tai's eyes. The eyes that seemed to swirl like chocolate pools to him. He opened his mouth to repeat himself, but couldn't. He couldn't lie. Not when looking into those precious, dark amber eyes. "I--I can't."  
  
"And answer me now Matt. Are you gay?"  
  
Matt looked away, but Tai made him look straight at him.   
  
"I... guess." Matt answered. "But, not really." he could answer truthfully. "O-only... one person..."  
  
"And who is that?" Tai asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
Matt's breathing quickened as he looked around for ANY excuse to escape. But once again, Tai drew the blonde's attention back toward him. "T-Tai... i-it's... it's y-you..."  
  
Tai stared, expressionless for a moment as he looked at the blonde, basically going over what was occuring before him and calculating it thoroughly.  
  
_Oh God... he hates me..._ Matt squinted his eyes shut, trying to look away, but Tai still had him by the chin.  
  
"Matt, look at me."  
  
Matt opened his eyes to see a softly smiling Tai, some kind of spark in his eyes he hadn't seen before.   
  
Matt blinked for a second, trying to clear his blurry vision.  
  
"Matt... I should have said this before..." Tai said softly, moving a little closer to the blonde. "I really care for you. As more than a friend." he took a deep breath. "And, I know it sounds strange since we've only known each other a month, but... I'm... pretty sure I... love you."  
  
Matt froze. He liked Tai. Cared for him. But love? Was this love? Matt closed his eyes, going over everything that had happened so recently, so quickly. And when he opened them, he came to a decision. "Tai? I... love you, too."  
  
Tai smiled, and leaned over, only an inch from Matt, as if waiting for permission. And when Matt leaned forward and met his lips, the permission was granted.  
  
They didn't even hear the shriek as Sora came around the corner, seeing the two in a long, yet simple kiss.  
  



End file.
